Bonaire Human Rights Organization challenges Dutch “special municipality” label to the UN

BONAIRE--The Bonaire Human Rights Organization has launched an international action on the status of Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatius. BHRO appointed Dr. Maxton Scotland (far left in photo), a United Nations SDG and civil society expert based in the United Kingdom, to represent the islands before the UN and other bodies.

A formal complaint was sent to: the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Human Rights Council, the Universal Periodic Review Secretariat, and the Netherlands’ Ministries of the Interior and of Foreign Affairs. BHRO and Dr. Scotland ask all parties to stop using “special municipality” and to apply the term in Dutch law, “public body” (openbaar lichaam).

The filing argues the “special municipality” label is inaccurate in law, misleading in practice, and harmful to human rights analysis. It states that the 2010 incorporation under the WolBES and FinBES Acts occurred without the free and genuine consent of the peoples concerned, breaching Article 1 of the ICCPR on self-determination.

BHRO cites the 2015 referendum: 66 percent of voters in Bonaire rejected the imposed status. The complaint says this result was ignored by the Netherlands, undermining democratic legitimacy.

Human rights impacts outlined:

• It creates a false equivalence with European Dutch municipalities, obscuring the actual governance of the three islands.

• It skews UN and international assessments on poverty, representation, and cultural identity.

• According to the Dutch National Ombudsman, about 40 percent of Bonaire residents live below the poverty line; unequal financing and weak remedies aggravate this.

• Policy extensions from the European Netherlands dilute protections for Papiamentu and other local languages.

Requests to the UN: the OHCHR should issue style guidance directing use of “public body of the Caribbean Netherlands,” future UPR reports should reflect this correction, and the Netherlands should demonstrate compliance with ICCPR Articles 1 and 2(3).

BHRO met Dutch officials during the 78th CESCR session in Geneva and invoked Article 73 of the UN Charter on Non-Self-Governing Territories.

“This is not merely a question of semantics,” said James Finies of BHRO. “Terminology determines recognition. The people of Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatius deserve to be represented truthfully and fairly in all international forums.”

BHRO, accredited at the UN and an Associate Member of the CARICOM Reparations Commission, reaffirms its commitment to the peoples’ rights and self-determination.

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